Cassandra: Red Wedding Crasher
by Myst Dragon
Summary: Crossover using Cassandra Katro from my Wanderer Stories and A Storm of Swords by GRRM. Cassandra arrives in the Riverlands and is urged by a spiritual presence to interfere with Walder Fray's plans for what became known as the Red Wedding.
1. Chapter 1

Cassandra:  
Red Wedding Crasher

By: Myst-Dragon

**Chapter 1**

**spoiler warning.**  
This crossover fic references an important scene in GRRM's "A Storm of Swords"  
**end warning.**

Note: Cassandra Katro can also be found in her own stories by me on FictionPress.

The transfer through time and space had gone the same as the others. Cassandra had taken one step in her walk on a city sidewalk, and the next step landed her in the middle of a forest. As she looked around, she saw the setting sun turning the sky red. As the young woman took in her surroundings with all of her senses, she was reminded of the time the winds of fate had blown her to Britain, before the country had become one. She was glad that it didn't seem to be winter, like it had been then; though the cool and damp atmosphere made her thankful for the bedroll strapped to her pack. After a few moments spent considering what she should do, she felt a gust of wind and began to walk in the direction it had blown.

After awhile of walking, she decided to make camp in a small grove. She first sat her pack down on the stump of a white tree, and then searched the site for a few rocks. Once the rocks were set up in a circle near the stump, Cassandra held out her left hand and focused her chi. As the energy of her body and spirit gathered; she concentrated on the image of her katana and the energy flowed from her hand, forming her sheathed sword. With her curved sword in hand, the brown-haired young woman took a breath as she walked beneath a tree. Her sword burst from its scabbard as she leapt towards the branches and before gravity called her back to the ground, her Japanese steel had returned home and several branches joined her descent. She tucked her sword into her belt before gathering what would soon be the fuel for her campfire.

In its current condition the wood wasn't very useful to her, so she decided to use the technique known as the Burning Soul, which was one she'd discovered on her own while training after madman had managed to injure her. Cassandra began to concentrate on the moment when the man who'd taught her father the Spirit Dragon Style martial art had tricked her into diving through the portal known as the Pool of Fate. It didn't take long for the anger brought about by the memory of Master Hiken's trick to heat her chi, and as her energy became hot, so did the air around her. She then focused the energy into her arms and gently waved them over the branches to dry out the wood. Once the task was completed, she sighed, letting go of the memory and her anger. The air was still cooling by the time she'd lit a small campfire, using a flint from her pack, and set up her bedroll, using a root of the white tree stump as a pillow. She sat down on her bedroll with a contented smile. "Ah, the life of a wanderer." She scanned the area as she began to wonder about the strong spirit presence she sensed, but then shrugged as she put the sensation off as just the remnants of some battle that might have been fought here.

As Cassandra slept, she dreamed, but it wasn't like any sort of dream she'd experienced before. It felt as though someone was trying to show her something. She saw two castles; one on either side of a bridge. At the gates to one side of the castle a group of men waited on horseback as another group approached. Ahead of an army she couldn't help but make note of three people in particular. They were a young man, a woman, and a man. All three shared red-brown hair. Both men wore beards, but the younger one seemed to have a more hardened face. With the three riders, walked a gray wolf. To call this animal large would be a gross understatement. The wolf didn't seem to care for the men waiting at the gate and as it voiced its feelings, one of the men was thrown from his horse. It seemed to take a bit of work for the young man to calm the wolf, or at least to make it a little calmer than it was. Once the wolf had been brought under control, the group was lead in, but before they entered the castle proper the wolf was lead off to the kennels.

Time seemed to shift ahead to the young man with red-brown hair and his companions standing before an old man sitting in a large chair that had the back patterned after the twin castles of his home and bridge crossing the river. Like calling the wolf large, calling this man old was a grievous understatement. He was bald, with a spotted head. He spoke to the young man in a mocking tone with a cackle for a laugh. The young man spoke of making apology and hoping to rejoin their houses in friendship, but the old man brought out some of his daughters and granddaughters and told the young man that he should apologize to them for not keeping his promise to choose a bride from one of their lot. Soon after the young man, whom the old man had made reference to as the King in the North, had made his apologies to the girls; the reason for their arrival had been brought out. A young woman was brought out and announced as the bride to be for the man who'd come with the young king that shared his brown-red hair and a few other features. It came to Cassandra as she watched this play out in its vagueness that the man was the young king's uncle and the woman was his mother.

Time shifted once more, this time to a feast. The people were cramped in their tables, even those at the head table. The proportions of spirits to food seemed to strike Cassandra as odd as she watched to scene play out. The king's uncle was enjoying his new wife, while the king's mother was stuck next to one man who seemed to be sweating out his drink. The musicians present, were either not very good or chose poorly composed songs. Soon one man who'd come with the young king, had left the hall. Later the king's uncle and his bride were led off to bed, as the feast continued. As the king's mother tried to ask one of the old man's brood some questions, the man turned from her to walk off, and she grabbed his arm. Something seemed to surprise her at that moment, and the man struck her. As the king made his way to block the man's path, a crossbow bolt struck the young man with red-brown hair, and soon after more bolts followed from the musicians who'd traded their instruments for crossbows. From then it was chaos in the hall, and in the end; the king, his mother and other's lay dead. Cassandra's perception shifted outside the castle as the same chaos had consumed the camps. Tents burned as the young king's men were slaughtered by men who wore the symbol of a man who was skinned and that of the castle's connected by a bridge. She also saw a man with a metallic hound's head fleeing the chaos with a brown-haired child.

As Cassandra woke from the strange dream, she shook her head as if to rid herself of a chill. "Was that really a dream?" She asked herself in a whisper and question continued in her mind as she got out of her bedroll and ate a few of the provisions from her pack. As she looked up, the gray sky made her sigh. "Oh what a lovely day this will be." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm as she made sure her campfire was completely out and began her meditation to gather and focus her chi. She closed her eyes and moved her arms in a slow, circular pattern. As she meditated, she became more aware of a spiritual presence.

She soon began to hear a weak voice whisper in her mind, gradually getting stronger until she saw images from the dream and she finally understood the voice yelling "Help them!" The images and the yell startled the young woman from her meditation as water began to gently sprinkle from the forlorn sky. Cassandra sighed once more and fixed her hair into its usual ponytail, before heading out using her bedroll as a makeshift cloak. She followed the direction the spiritual presence seemed to be urging her, wondering if the dream actually was a vision given to her by whatever the spirit was.


	2. Chapter 2

Cassandra:  
Red Wedding Crasher

By: Myst-Dragon

**Chapter 2**

**spoiler warning.**  
This crossover fic references an important scene in GRRM's "A Storm of Swords"  
**end warning.**

As Cassandra moved through the rain-soaked forest, she wasn't sure if the wind was actually guiding her to the place she saw in her dream. She wasn't sure if she would arrive in time or if the events of the dream would even take place without her intervention. The only thing she was sure of was that she had to see. She had to stop that massacre! It was getting dark as she approached the perimeter of a large camp. There were thousands of men moving across the field with a multitude of tents set up. The young woman carefully prowled the outside edge of the camp, carefully scanning the area. Once she was confident that she understood the tent layout and movements of the soldiers, she began to mull over the information in her mind. "I could try sneaking through a part of the camp to one of the outer walls, but that might take too long." A smile crept across her face as an alternative came to mind and she mentally made a checklist of what she felt she could accomplish.

Cassandra crept along the outside of the camp until she found a clear path directly to the outer walls of the castle. She unsheathed her sword and channeled a small portion of her chi into the blade as she whispered the command "accept" and blew across the blade. The curved steel faded as it became wind compressed and held into the form of a katana blade. She took a slow, deep breath as she held the sword up for a downward slash and focused her energy through body and blade. As her blade slashed down, it cut through the air and sent out a powerful blast of wind. She lunged forward running in the void created by the blast's wake. If anyone took note of her passing, there would be no way they would perceive more than a powerful blast of wind in the dim light. As Cassandra neared the wall, she cut through the head of the blast with her wind blade, disrupting it. Once out of the void she began to suck in air as if she'd been held under water for longer than she liked. "As long… as I can… help it; Never Again!" She leaned against the wall until she managed to get her breathing under control, and then whispered the command, "Revert". With the command given the sword became steel once more and she sheathed it.

She examined the stone wall and smiled as it looked as she had expected. "Even a world apart; thank god for commonality." Cassandra climbed the wall, using all of her senses to keep a feel of where the relatively few guards were. Once on top of the wall, she stayed low as snuck into a guard tower and down the steps into the courtyard. The young woman made certain to stay close to the walls as she crept to the kennels. When she finally saw the large wolf, she grinned. It actually seemed bigger than in the dream. There was a man with a sword belted to his side. She wasn't sure about how his presence would affect her 'plan'. In the end she lunged forward and struck him across the jaw. Cassandra caught him and laid him down, as the wolf just looked at her. When she'd stood back up, the wolf nudged the unconscious man and then huffed before turning, and walking to the castle door.

There were two men guarding the large doors, and Cassandra almost panicked as she saw the large wolf lower itself and slink forward. In response, she darted forward and leapt between the two guards. They barely had time to register her sudden arrival before she shot her open palm into the chest of one of the men, his linked mail and padding failing to prevent her purpose. The first man's knees hadn't even buckled, when she twisted and shot her right elbow into the other man's body. As both men fell to the ground, the wolf approached her growling. She locked her eyes with the beast's and used an old technique to send an image of her strength through the link. She'd never tried it on an animal before, but then seemed as good a time as any. The wolf paused; seeming puzzled and then gave one more, short growl before standing by the door expectantly. Cassandra rolled her eyes as she straightened up and pushed the doors open.

Inside the hall, where the where the 'feast' was taking place, Lord Bolton had already taken his leave. The young king's uncle, Lord Edmure Tulley, was sitting with his bride; not caring that the spirits were flowing more freely than the food. The young king, Robb Stark, and his mother Catelyn were both anxious for the evening to end. Lady Catelyn was more anxious from fear than anything else. Everyone's eyes turned to the doors as they swung open to reveal a young woman with a brown ponytail, wearing strange clothing. What drew their attention even more though was the sight of the dire wolf known as Greywind standing right beside her. "What's the meaning of this? Who are you?" Old Walder Fray demanded as loudly as he could.

Cassandra smirked as she channeled chi into one of her arms for a burst. "I'm sorry for the intrusion. Oh, that's right the dream said you were tired of apologies." She didn't seem to notice the old man's scowl, and continued. "My name is Cassandra Katro, I practice the Spirit Dragon Style martial art, and I'm here to prevent you from murdering a couple of guests." She thrust her arm out, releasing a concussive blast towards the 'musicians' and making a mess of them. Those glanced towards them noticed the now revealed crossbows, and Cassandra made her move to leap behind Lord Fray. The old man's eyes widened as he felt the edge of her blade kiss his wrinkled neck. "I could be mistaken, but don't weddings normally have good musicians, who don't keep hidden weapons?"

Robb stood glaring dangerously at Walder Fray, but turned to his dire wolf first. "Greywind, to me." The wolf seemed to intent on the gathered Fray's to notice. "Greywind!" This time the wolf walked to its master. With Greywind at his side, the young king turned his attention back to Lord Fray. "What is the meaning of that?" He demanded as he pointed to the false musicians.

One of the Frays decided to voice their indignation at the situation. "How dare you accuse us of trying something dishonorable, especially when this wench has a blade to…" As he began talking Cassandra had began focusing on him and preparing her Dragon Roar technique, and as she heard the word he used to describe her she released the roar. The sound unnerved everyone who heard it and the man she had targeted was struck on a psychic level by the energy carried by the sound. Cassandra realized too late that she'd used too much energy on the man as he collapsed. Her face betrayed her embarrassment only briefly before she caught her composure.

It didn't take long for Robb to voice the question that everyone who'd heard it was thinking. "What was that?"

She still felt a little uncomfortable after overdoing it against the Fray man. "That, umm… That's a technique I was taught by my dad. It uses chi and sound for a person to unnerve and stun a large group."

The young King in the North looked over to a large bearded man. "Greatjon, take Lord Fray off the lady's hands. I have a better use for her talents." The large man took Walder Fray from her and Cassandra sighed as she sheathed her sword. Robb walked to her, studying her as he approached. "Are you capable of using that 'roar' on a few thousand men at once?" He asked, still studying her as he awaited a response.

"It would be tricky, but yeah." Her eyes widened as she realized his intent. "You want me to use it on the Fray men outside. Well, until you re-affirm the loyalties of whoever uses a skinned man as his badge, you might want to include his men too."

"The Flayed man! Bolton? Just what are you trying to pull?" The Greatjon demanded.

Cassandra looked back at him annoyed. "I'm not trying to pull anything. Last night I went to sleep near a white tree stump and I dreamed of the Frays setting off a trap which killed a good number of you, and there was a man in dark armor and a pink cloak or cape that finished off your young king here. I also saw 'Flayed' men fighting alongside Frays, butchering everyone else. There was even a man with a metal dog head carrying off a brown-haired kid in the chaos." She turned back to Robb. "You might not know me, but don't you think it's kind of obvious that I'm not with the Frays."

I almost seemed like Robb was about to smile. "Now that, that's out of the way, let's go. We've got an ambush to stop.

As Cassandra walked with Robb, alongside some of his men and hostages; she felt strange and uncertain. She wondered if the young man would simply kill the Frays or if he would give them a chance to redeem themselves. She didn't like the idea of stopping one massacre only to allow another, even if they deserved it. "I have a favor to ask, but you might not like it."

Robb sighed heavily. "What is it?"

"Can you promise that you'll try not to kill anyone? I mean, I would appreciate it if you could try to prevent any unnecessary deaths." He looked at her incredulously. These are human lives we're talking about; I don't care if they are bastards for going along with old man Fray's plan."

After what seemed like a long moment of silence, Robb answered her. "I'm no butcher, any man who can be taken alive, will be. Does that ease your mind?"

"I guess it'll have to." The rest of the walk was quiet.

Soon after they'd made their way to the wall of the castle, facing the camps, some of them blew horns; and men began to pour towards the wall. The Fray men in the crowd were more confused than any of the others of course. Cassandra had already begun to gather her chi and spread her mind across the field, locking her focus on those emanating a malicious intent towards the 'wolf". She made certain to lock away a small portion of her chi before her eyes flashed open and she released the Dragon's Roar on her targets. The use of so much chi at once unbalanced her and she soon blacked out wondering if she'd succeeded or not.

When Cassandra awoke, she found herself lying on a bed in a fair sized room; however it wasn't until she felt the blanket rub against her skin as it fell down her small breast that she became fully awake. She noticed a pitcher next to the bed, as well as a girl standing nearby, as she pulled the blanket back up with her left hand. The girl had brown hair and from the way she was dressed, Cassandra would place bets on her being highborn, though the girl didn't seem comfortable in her clothes. Since her throat was dry and felt scratched, Cassandra decided to deal with it first. She reached for the pitcher and looked to the girl. "This is drinking water, right?" The girl nodded and smiled so she sniffed the water before drinking greedily from the pitcher. It tasted right, so she wasn't too worried about it after that. "So, what brings a cute girl like you here?"

"Can you teach me how to hurt people with my voice like they say you did?"

The girl's question caught her off guard and she coughed as a laugh caught in her throat. "Sorry, but it would take years to teach that; and I'll be leaving soon. By the way, I'm Cassandra. What's your name?"

The girl looked at her suspiciously, but still answered her. "Aria."

Cassandra held onto the blanket as she reached across to where she'd finally seen her clothes, and started getting dressed. "Well, Aria, do you think you can help me find some food." Cassandra soon learned that Robb had been true to his word and that there were few casualties. Old man Walder Fray will be a guest at Riverrun, so long as the rest of his family behaves. Roose Bolton could not be found. Cassandra soon moved on, transported to a new point in time and space.


End file.
